No person may even maintain predicted the turbulent recount that console gaming is in simply now.
5 years ago, Sony and Microsoft both launched subsequent-gen consoles with very identical PC-primarily primarily based architectures. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Sequence X (and its less-grand sibling, the Sequence S) promised even bigger and extra life like gaming experiences with terminate to PC-quality graphics and responsiveness. We maintain been informed that ray tracing—the recreation of life like lights, reflections, and shadows in video games—would be price spending $500 for a original field to mosey into our 4K TVs.
On the fifth birthday of both consoles, I’m in a position to describe you we maintain been supplied a lie. Jaw-shedding as ray tracing is, few video games even beef up the graphics enhancement. Out of the extra than 1,050 video games within the PS5’s library, simplest 60-something video games beef up ray tracing—that’s a measly 6%. As disappointing as that’s, the PS5 has emerged as the winner against the Xbox Sequence X, outselling Microsoft’s sport console by a excellent margin. As of November 2025, the PS5’s crossed Eighty four million items shipped globally since 2020, versus the estimated 30 million that the Xbox Sequence X/S within the same quantity of time.
The place Microsoft has fumbled time and once more—looking out to turn Xbox into the “Netflix of gaming” with Sport Trip, pivoting to a bigger author by taking a search for Activision Blizzard for $sixty eight.7 billion, and hiking hardware costs a few cases on legend of an inner mandate to turn a 30% profit—Sony has expertly navigated the same substitute challenges with orderly expansions for its PlayStation tag.
There’s no telling what is going to happen at some point soon, however taking a search support at the previous five years of PS5, it’s obvious that Sony did comely by gamers. Actually f*cking comely, for primarily the most half.
Designed for gamer needs
I’ll admit that once I first saw the PS5, I was once no longer into its twisted panels or its broad size. Consoles are presupposed to rating smaller and extra grand, no longer greater—shrinkage is a straightforward and seen marker of technological development. The fashioned Xbox was once disliked (particularly in Japan) since it was once this sort of behemoth. However it seems the PS5 originate was once staunch simply, as a minimal in comparison to the Xbox Sequence X, which is literally staunch a horrid-taking a search shaded field. So out of the gate, Sony shipped hardware that seemed admire it was once from the future—other folks actually admire items that search materially original and diversified.
As the video games (and exclusives admire Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Trustworthy Fable VII: Remake) rolled in, it changed into extra sure to me that the PS5 was once the greater hardware for the future. Even though my birth-day PS5 simplest had 825GB of constructed-in SSD storage, it may per chance well also easily be expanded with a mature M.2 NVMe SSD. The Xbox Sequence X has a proprietary storage growth slot on the support, however for a long time, simplest Seagate supplied them, they most regularly maintain been actually costly. Sony chose the less corrupt direction, and gamers admire me admire that openness.
Even better than an sensible potential so that you can add storage to set up the ballooning size of video games maintain been two hardware parts I didn’t reflect would lunge away any lengthy-lasting influence on me: the adaptive triggers within the DualSense controller and the “Tempest 3D audio.” Adaptive triggers present extra nuanced haptic suggestions, admire the ability to feel the resistance of a vehicle tools pedal in Gran Turismo 7, the stress when pulling support a bow in Horizon: Forbidden West or switching a weapon in Resident Nasty Village, and even the diversified ground affords in Astro Bot. Adaptive triggers add one other layer of sensory immersion. Tempest 3D audio is less known, however almost every PS5 sport helps it. The usage of a admire minded headset, you would also hear refined sound results admire footsteps, gunfire, and rain (to name about a) coming from diversified directions. It works so effectively and is so underrated, however it with no doubt actually heightens things within the thick of a sport. I never feeble a gaming headset with my consoles sooner than, however on PS5, I almost frequently perform.
Making an attempt things
The evolving nature of gaming additionally draw it’s no longer ample for Sony (or someone) to birth a console and staunch rating as many video games on it as that you would also imagine. Those days are lengthy long previous. So Sony tried things; uncommon things that didn’t necessarily turn into broad hits, however I’m tranquil delighted it took a stab at them since it’s kept the PS5 from rising outdated out.
Peripherals admire the PlayStation VR2, a second-generation version of the PSVR for PS4, opened up the console to extra VR video games and a 2D digital display camouflage camouflage to play PlayStation titles on. The PlayStation Portal, while no longer a standalone handheld by itself, let gamers drag their PS5 to it over Wi-Fi for far off play away from the console. A free instrument update has expanded the Portal’s functionality to allow streaming PlayStation video games straight from the cloud as an different of from a PS5. Certain, the PSVR 2 is largely a failure and the Portal doesn’t actually compete with the Switch 2 or any handheld PC, however they gave the PS5 a moat. The Xbox Sequence X had no such thing.
The beefy-on hardware refresh with the slimmer PS5 and the extra grand PS5 Skilled in 2024 has itsy-bitsy doubt helped prop up the console because it enters its midlife. Does it suck that Sony hiked up costs for the PS5 and PS5 Skilled a year later on legend of Trump’s nonsensical tariffs? Absolutely, however that doesn’t seem to maintain trouble PS5 sales as grand because it has trouble Xbox Sequence X sales.
Expanding to PC
I’ll rating to Sony bringing its PS5 exclusives to PC and what that draw for PlayStation’s future in a second, however the one thing the firm deserves extra credit for is rising the PlayStation tag previous the console hardware.
A PlayStation will frequently primarily be a console that sits below your TV first, however it with no doubt’s now additionally a household of devices that orbit it and any gaming PCs that can play its bizarre titles. No longer like Microsoft, which has leaned into Xbox being a service which would per chance be played on any tool, Sony sees PlayStation as an ecosystem and daily life gaming tag. In that means, it’s turning into extra admire Razer, which sells its maintain Blade gaming laptops, however additionally sells the peripherals designed for them.
When Sony announced its Inzone PC gaming tag of gaming headsets and monitors, which additionally labored with PS5, I knew it was once simplest a subject of time sooner than we bought extra. You didn’t need 20/20 vision to leer that the Inzone products maintain been intently impressed by the PS5’s white and shaded originate language.
Inzone and PlayStation are tranquil separate gaming producers recently, they most regularly’re serving both PlayStation and PC gamers. The PlayStation Pulse Elite headset and Pulse Uncover wi-fi earbuds are made for PS5, however they’re additionally admire minded with PC gaming. Same goes for the 27-budge PlayStation Gaming Monitor with DualSense Charging Hook, FlexStrike wi-fi fighting stick, and the Pulse Elevate portable desktop audio system, which will be all popping out in 2026.
This excellent and rising ecosystem of PlayStation hardware simplest deepens and entrenches the platform as a recount price taking a search for into. Admire a sports personnel, consumers root for the corporations and platforms they feel the final managers are rising. Sony is winning physical and psychological mindshare with PS5- and PC-admire minded hardware, while Microsoft is… it seems looking out to compete with TikTok and movies. In looking out to originate every tool an Xbox, Microsoft has lost its point of curiosity on what console gamers crave—original consoles and the accompanying peripherals to originate video games extra stunning—whereas Sony has simplest doubled down on core gamers.
PlayStation first, PC second
It’s this sort of atypical thing to leer once-bizarre Xbox video games admire Forza Horizon 5 and Gears of Battle: Reloaded on PS5, and Halo coming to Sony’s console in 2026. These franchises feeble to be fodder for taking facets, however no longer anymore. Now that Microsoft has prioritized publishing its video games on as many platforms as that you would also imagine, there’s almost no motive to be right to Xbox.
Time will describe whether chasing earnings from video games was once price sacrificing Xbox consoles at the altar, however Sony is going by the same jam of rising sport construction costs. Bigger AAA video games with extra detailed graphics cost extra cash to originate than ever sooner than—1000’s of millions of greenbacks. So it simplest makes sense that publishing a sport on as many platforms—even a competitor’s—is a extra sustainable industry model.
The distinction is that Sony is no longer handing out its video games to PC sooner than it has milked them out on PS5 first. Wisely-reviewed video games admire Wonder’s Spider-Man 2 released on PS5 in October 2023, however simplest on PC in January 2025, and Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Decrease came out on PS5 in 2021, however on PC in Can also 2024. Even remastered variations of extinct titles admire the PS4’s God of Battle, launched first on PS5 in Can also 2021 sooner than arriving a year later on PC in January 2022.
This friendliness for publishing its video games for PC and even making so grand PC/PS5-admire minded hardware has many thinking that Sony’s taking steps to follow Microsoft and turn into an all-platform author, however that’s staunch no longer going to happen. In case the total PS5 peripherals didn’t originate it obvious, the predominant and predominant platform that Sony wishes gamers playing its video games is by itself PlayStation consoles. PC is no longer an equal citizen; it’s second-class. Sony is simplest publishing its video games on PC to recoup losses (if a sport bombs) or manufacture extra income later (once PS5 sales maintain tapered off). Undergo in mind that quite lots of the work of porting a sport from PS5 to PC has already been carried out, on legend of the similarities in x86 machine architecture for both platforms, so it’s extra cost-atmosphere good than it would maintain been pre-PS4 generation.
Positioned for PS6, however the Steam Machine looms
Making an attempt forward, Sony is in an precise recount to birth its subsequent-gen PlayStation—let’s staunch name it the PlayStation 6—in about a years and cruise to victory. Rumors counsel that the PS6 may also birth in 2027 or 2028, which would be in accordance to previous console lifecycles; the PS5 launched seven years after the PS4. Microsoft says it’s dedicated to top class Xbox hardware, which is anticipated to birth spherical the same time, however with the total missteps it’s made, the Xbox devoted may also no longer pull up.
It additionally doesn’t back that Sony’s PS6 may also resemble the Nintendo Switch 2 with a hybrid originate that can lunge from console to handheld and vice versa. Or if the PS6 is a conventional console and a separate handheld, which would per chance be regarding, too. This form of hardware departure may also leave without reference to Microsoft has deliberate for its Xbox Sequence X successor taking a search out of date if it additionally doesn’t maintain some handheld component.
Sony’s most exciting probability isn’t a original Xbox or the Switch 2—it’s Valve’s newly announced Steam Machine that’s launching in early 2026. The 6 x 6-budge console is de facto a puny gaming PC that runs SteamOS, which draw it may per chance well play your beefy library of Steam video games. Tech specs and first impressions from the media exhibit the Steam Machine is a ample 1080p and 1440p gaming field, however it with no doubt may also fall attempting the efficiency from the PS5 Skilled. Specs-wise, Sony has the edge now, and will for sure eclipse the Steam Machine with the PS6, however it with no doubt’s no longer staunch Valve’s field that this may must compete with. The same potential the Steam Deck opened the door to bigger and extra grand handheld PCs to the point where the market hasty changed into saturated, the Steam Machine will be a blueprint for third-occasion corporations, broad and cramped, to birth their maintain SteamOS-primarily primarily based consoles. When—no longer if—that happens, Sony will face assault from extra directions than it ever has.
Sport exclusives and an rising hardware ecosystem helped catapult the PS5 to the end and leave Xbox maimed and at a loss for words. It’s additionally something that Sony shouldn’t lose observe of for the PS6 and previous. A proper drag of exclusives frequently sells original hardware. It’s frequently been this implies and gradually will be. True search at Nintendo. Mario, Zelda, and Pokémon carried the Switch to over a hundred and fifty million items shipped worldwide, and it’s going to retain out the same thing for the Switch 2, which is already breaking recordsdata. If the PS6 isn’t as a hit as the PS5, it’ll be because there aren’t ample bizarre video games.